MEMPHIS – Playing to possibly improve their seedline in the upcoming NCAA tournament, the University of Cincinnati held off a Wichita State team that wouldn’t go away. UC saw the Shockers whittle a 13-point lead down and tie the game late, but a Cane Broome driving lay-up and Jarron Cumberland free throw was enough to put UC over the edge in the final seconds, 66-63.

The Bearcats blocked Markis McDuffie’s last shot and Trevon Scott foiled a long inbound pass by getting a hand on the ball as time ran out. The Shockers didn't have a field goal over the final 3:10.

"I saw me playing football in high school," Scott said of the deciding deflection. "Coach Cronin was saying deny and make sure the guards up front don't get a shot. He told us to read up. That's what I did. I just baited him into it like I wasn't there. As soon as the ball left his hand I ran to it and the buzzer went off."

Despite fouling out, Nysier Brooks led UC with 13 points and nine rebounds. Scott added 12 and Cumberland had 11 on an off-shooting day at 3-for-16. Markis McDuffie led Wichita State with 18 and Samajae Haynes-Jones had 17.

UC outrebounded the Shockers 42-33. They shot 39.1 percent to WSU’s 35.8. It was the ninth time UC trailed at halftime this season and the fourth time they've pulled out the victory. The Bearcats are 27-6 overall with Wichita State dropping to 19-14.

"That's the only reason we really won today," Cronin said of the rebounding advantage. "When you shoot 47 percent from the foul line (10 of 21) and the other team shoots 85, it's hard to win. Yesterday we won with offense, today we won with defense and rebounding."

The Bearcats advanced in the quarterfinals with an 82-74 win over SMU, while Wichita State knocked off No. 3-seed Temple 80-74 to earn a third game against UC.

UC completed a season sweep of the Shockers, winning 66-55 in Wichita, 72-62 at Fifth Third Arena and by three in Saturday's AAC semi.

Current NCAA bracketology coming into the game has Mick Cronin's Bearcats a No. 7 seed in the South possibly facing VCU according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi. Jerry Palm of CBS has UC as high as a No. 5 in the South. Fox Sports "guesstimates" UC a No. 7 seed in the East.

In the opening semifinal, top seed Houston played No. 5 seed Memphis, the hometown host and defeated the Tigers 61-58 to earn another trip to the AAC final.

UC jumped out 4-0 early and then 6-3. The Shockers then went on 9-0 run before Brooks stopped the bleeding with a jumper. Scott’s 3-pointer cut it to 12-11. Then Brooks was fouled underneath and UC went to the free throw line. He would miss his first three free throws, but had eight points as the Bearcats went into a break at 11:54 with a 13-12 lead.

Five minutes later it was 26-20 with Scott hitting a second triple and a driving bank shot. The Shockers then reeled off six straight to tie. Samajae Haynes-Jones fired a desperation three to beat the shot clock, then later was fouled on a driving layup and made his free throws.

Wichita State’s McDuffie then gave the Shockers their first lead in 13 minutes with a jumper to make it 28-26 with 2:08 in the half. Cane Broome’s 3-pointer briefly put UC back up, but Jamarius Burton followed with a slam and Jaime Echenique added free throws for a 32-29 advantage. Eliel Nsoseme missed a pair from the charity stripe before the half, making UC 0-for 7 from the line in the first 20 minutes. Wichita State was 13-for-14.

By the first media timeout of the second half, UC had regained the lead 39-33. Justin Jenifer had an offensive putback and a long triple, with Cumberland also burying a long three. On the downside for the Bearcats, Brooks and Cumberland picked up their third fouls and forced to retreat to the bench.

Minus Cumberland and Brooks, UC stayed on the attack. Mamoudou Diarra hit a jumper, Broome a 3-pointer and Williams had a steal and a slam for UC’s biggest lead at that time 46-36 with 12:30 remaining. Cronin, Scott and Brooks applauded the efforts of the subs in their post-game comments.

"The more you develop those guys the more weapons you have to win games," Cronin said. "You can't just win if Jarron has a big game and lose if he doesn't."

With 10:13 to go, UC was still 0-for-7 from the line. Scott finally hit a pair, then Rashawn Fredericks drove, scored and was fouled and converted as UC went up 53-40. The Shockers responded with threes from McDuffie and Dexter Dennis, making it 53-46 with 8:21 to go.

Cumberland then returned to the game after the timeout along with Brooks. Free throws from Brooks put UC up 58-51 with 6:07, but he quickly added a fourth foul. Meantime, Wichita State caught fire with an 11-4 run to tie the game up behind Jaime Echenique, a 3-pointer from Erik Stevenson and a layup from Haynes-Jones.

Under two minutes, Cumberland would make a free throw for a 63-62 lead, later Broome’s lay-up made it 65-63 UC. With :09 Gregg Marshall called a timeout for Wichita State. McDuffie’s last attempt was blocked, Cumberland was fouled and made one of his FTs for the 66-63 final. Wichita State’s last chance inbound pass was deflected by Trevon Scott and time ran out on the Shockers.

Sunday's matinee: UC squares off with Houston for a third time now in the AAC Championship Sunday at FedEx Forum at 3:15 Eastern. It’s a rematch of last year’s championship won by the Bearcats 56-55. Houston returns three starters with UC returning Cumberland and Jenifer from the starting five.